About

$12,107

pledged of $4,000 goal

272

backers

Welcome to the Distant Frontiers project! I hope you'll join me in this exciting new venture beyond the stars!

"Distant Frontiers" is the name I've given to a set of eight new maps on four double-sided posters, all themed around space exploration. Starting with the Bridge Quadrant and expanding from there, I want to print a massive capital ship scaled for use with tabletop miniatures. Each new section that we unlock with stretch goals connects interchangeably--not just to the others in this series, but also to the space station quadrants from my "Distant Outposts" set from 2014!

Here's what all four maps from the front of these new posters will look like, together:

Introducing the O.D.S. "Phoenix Dawn"

These same posters can also be rearranged to form the upper level of the "Progenitor-Class Colony Transport" in the middle. (Distant Outposts showed the lower level.) Here's a closer look at the new deck:

Progenitor-Class Colony Ship, Upper Deck

For an even better look at the detail you'll find on these maps, here's a small section of the "Base Camp" on the back of the first poster:

Base Camp Detail

Sci-fi miniatures-scaled maps have been a specialty of mine since my work on the Star Wars Miniatures game. With a lot of great new sci-fi games coming out this year and next, the time seemed right to take my work to the next level...figuratively and literally!

Distant Frontiers fits directly over top of my Distant Outposts maps, with areas of the Orbital Docking Station visible underneath elements of the Orbital Deployment Ship. Balconies, stairs, and elevators connect back and forth, so you can send the action seamlessly from one section to the next during the course of any game that takes place on these maps. They feature a 1-inch grid, and fine colored terrain lines that are visible enough to be useful in skirmish games, but subtle enough to be ignored if you don't need them. (The PDF rewards also include a version without the colored terrain markings.)

I'm working with my printer to see if there's any way these can be printed in time for a Gen Con release. If that works out, backers at the show will be able to pick up their copies in person. Unfortunately, it leaves very little time for this funding goal, so I really need your help in telling people about it. If you like what you see, please back the project as soon as possible and tell everyone you know about it!

PROJECT GOALS

Printing individual poster maps is an expensive business. The best way to keep costs down is to order a lot of copies at once. That's where you and Kickstarter come in: by crowd-funding the printing and packaging costs, we can ensure that everyone who wants copies of these maps can afford to get them.

The goals outlined below are intended to unlock a full commercial print run of each poster. If we happen to fall short of any specific goal beyond the first, backers will still get the rewards they pledged for, even if the posters need to be printed in a limited quantity. Pledge with confidence!

At $4000 - Distant Frontiers I - FUNDED!

The initial funding goal unlocks the first of four new double-sided posters, starting with the Bridge Quadrant, complete with a captain's chair and surrounding stations for Star Trek-style campaign with everyone on deck! On the back, the arctic Base Camp gives you a great launching point for encounters on frozen worlds.

Orbital Deployment Ship: Bridge Quadrant

Base Camp

At $8000 - Distant Frontiers II - FUNDED!

This stretch goal unlocks the second of these new double-sided posters. The Residential Quadrant shows where the Phoenix Dawn's crew and passengers live and assemble when called, while the back of the poster provides an Alien Jungle with crystal caves and a variety of natural hazards.

Orbital Deployment Ship: Residential Quadrant

Alien Jungle

At $12,000 - Distant Frontiers III

This stretch goal unlocks the third poster, adding the mighty propulsion systems of the Engineering Quadrant to our starship! The reverse side of this poster depicts a Desert Outpost with a small homestead overlooking a sea of dunes:

Orbital Deployment Ship: Engineering Quadrant

Desert Outpost

At $16,000 - Distant Frontiers IV

This goal unlocks the last Distant Frontiers double-sided poster! On the front, a cargo storage facility for the Phoenix Dawn, with a colony ship offloading some damaged parts with an emergency ramp. On the back, an asteroid mining rig with a railway connection system that serves as the missing link that bridges ALL of my sci-fi poster map product lines into one enormous interconnected installation!

Orbital Deployment Ship: Cargo Quadrant

Asteroid Base

REWARDS

The Posters:

The printed posters are 22x34 inches in size, full-color, double-sided, and include at least one bonus terrain card designed to be placed on the map to change its features during gameplay. Each map has a subtle 1-inch grid illustrated into the floor. My older printed products are pre-folded, but all of the new posters will be available to backers in two ways: folded in a clear plastic resealable envelope, or rolled in a tube. You can choose when filling out your reward survey.

Exclusive Vinyl Map Prints:

As a special Kickstarter-exclusive reward, backers can pledge $55 to receive any one Maps of Mastery poster map image as a single-sided 22x34-inch premium, full-color, durable vinyl print, rolled in a tube for shipping. In your survey at the end of the funding drive, you can choose from any of the new maps created for this project, or any of my existing Maps of Mastery poster map images.

(Note: This special offer does not include maps I've created for other publishers over the years. I only own the copyright to my self-published maps.)

The Massive Vinyl Banner:

This 68-inch wide, 44-inch tall, single-sided vinyl map banner combines the four Orbital Deployment Ship maps to present the "O.D.S. Phoenix Dawn," a complete star cruiser ready to hang on your wall or throw down on your game table. Perfect for big event games or ongoing campaigns that reuse this capital ship again and again. Includes reinforced grommets at the top for easy wall hanging.

The Orbital Deployment Ship, "Phoenix Dawn"

Update: If you missed out on the "Orbital Docking Station" vinyl banner a few years ago, I would be happy to get some of those reprinted as a special bonus. If you upgrade your pledge for a Massive Vinyl Banner as described below, you can choose from either of these two maps when you fill out your reward survey. (Or upgrade it twice and get them both!)

The Orbital Docking Station from Distant Outposts

Deluxe Poster Map Sets:

When you get all four Distant Frontiers posters at once, your reward is automatically upgraded to the "Deluxe Set," which includes two wrap-around cover cards featuring even more map content! I'll be revealing these additional pieces over the course of the project.

The "Distant Horizons" Combo Pack:

This exclusive bundle combines the Deluxe Set of all four of these new "Distant Frontiers" posters with the Deluxe Set of all four "Distant Outposts" posters and adds in the "Distant Starscapes" star field poster as an extra bonus!

ADD-ONS

If you would like to receive any of the extra rewards listed below in addition to your chosen pledge reward, simply increase your pledge (of $5 or more) by the amount shown below, while keeping your original reward selected. At the end of the funding period, your reward survey will allow you to specify which additional item(s) you wish to add with the extra funds you pledged.

• DELUXE SET WRAPAROUND CARDS ~9x13" (Two printed double-sided cards featuring the cover of a Deluxe Set and three exclusive map panels that can be used with the poster maps to adjust the terrain.) Add $4NOTE #1: This add-on only gets you the bonus cover cards from a deluxe set, not the full Deluxe Set. It is intended for those who want extras.)NOTE #2: If your printed reward already includes all four Deck Space or Deep Vistas posters, your reward will *automatically* be upgraded to the Deluxe Set, and you do not need to purchase this add-on to get the extra content.

• ADDITIONAL MAPS OF MASTERY POSTERS 22x34" (New posters from this project, or any single poster or terrain card set product available in my map store. Visit www.mapsofmastery.com to browse what's available.): Add $12

• VINYL MAP PRINT 22x34" (Single-sided map print on vinyl. You may choose any one of the new poster map images from this project, or any previous Maps of Mastery poster map image from a product in my map store. Visit www.mapsofmastery.com to take a look at all of my other posters.): Add $55

• TERRAIN CARD PDF LIBRARY (Includes all existing Maps of Mastery terrain card set images as a downloadable archive of PDF files. The only other way to get these, is in the Maps of Mastery Omnibus (see below)): Add $30

You may choose more than one add-on. Just add the total amount for your combined selections to your current pledge level.

International backers: If you attach a printed add-on to your pledge, please include an additional $10 to help offset the increased shipping costs.

Risks and challenges

All of the artwork for these new posters is already 100% finished, so after the project is funded, only a few hurdles will remain to be overcome:

1) The posters will be produced by a printing company that I have used before with great results. Still, it's possible that printing setbacks outside of my control could slow down production and cause a delay. We're also seeking the very best print quality possible, and I won't settle for anything less. If delays happens, I will keep backers informed and work closely with the printer to fix things.

2) If this project exceeds all expectations and unlocks a lot of stretch goals, that extra work and the extra print quantities and additional shipping labor could also generate delays. Fulfillment might need to be handled in waves as the printer delivers a larger number of these maps over a greater period of time. That would slow delivery for some backers, but shouldn't delay the start of the process.

3) Any time postal services are involved, delivery delays or missing shipments are possible, too...especially with international shipping. I have a lot of experience shipping poster maps, though, and will remedy any problems as quickly as possible.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge US$ 60 or more
About US$ 60

The Complete Maps of Mastery Omnibus

THE COMPLETE PDF COLLECTION! Every map image ever published by Christopher West's Maps of Mastery, old and new, in one downloadable archive of PDF image files! Includes hundreds of terrain cards and dozens of poster map images--many available nowhere else--and all at print-quality resolution.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $100 or more
About $100

"Distant Horizons" Combo Pack (Printed)

A special bundle including the Distant Frontiers deluxe set, the Distant Outposts deluxe set that connects to them, and the individual Distant Starscapes poster. 18 maps spanning 9 double-sided posters, plus all of their terrain cards and 4 deluxe set map panels, shipped to your location.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $325 or more
About $325

The Complete Maps of Mastery Library

The comprehensive Maps of Mastery PRINT AND PDF LIBRARY! At this level, you will get a printed and packaged copy of every poster map and every terrain card set ever published under the Maps of Mastery brand, shipped to your location. That's at least 27 double-sided posters and 11 different terrain card sets, plus any stretch goals we unlock! You also get the Complete PDF Omnibus -- a downloadable archive of every Maps of Mastery image file, ever!